Telescope mount with snap rings



WH W, 1951 M. LEUPOLD 2,548,031

TELESCOPE MOUNT WITH SNAP RINGS Filed July 2, 1 948 K INVENTOR. 6 20 Mflsus LEZUU/D 4 BXZWMM flrr nmsya Patented Apr. 110, 1951 TELESGGPE MOUNT WITH SNAP RINGS Marcus Leupold, Portland, Oreg, assignor to Leupold & Stevens Instruments, llna, Portland, Oreg, a corporation of Oregon Application July 2, 1948, Serial No. 36,695

17 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a telescope mount of particular utility for mounting a telescope sight upon a rifle or other firearm. The invention in some respects comprises an improvement upon the invention disclosed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 728,826, filed February 15, 1947, now Patent No. 2,493,254, issued January 3, 1950.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a telescope sight mount comprising two mounting rings adapted to embrace the telescope and hold the same in adjustable relation to the bore of the rifle, said rings being substantially identical in all respects, so as to reduce the number of parts and operations required to produce a single unitary device of this character.

An object of the present invention is to provide means whereby windage and elevation adjustments of a telescope sight may be made by adjusting the position of one of a pair of mounting rings, and the other of the pair of mounting rings will automatically assume the angularity with respect to the ride barrel required by the change in position of the first ring without placing any strain whatsoever upon the telescope tube.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable telescope mount which provides for the locking of an elevation adjustment screw by the simple act of tightening one of two adjustment windage screws.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a construction of the foregoing typ in which all parts are rugged and relatively simple to manufacture, none of which are subject to disfigurement or becoming burred by rough handling.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood by inspection of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, while the features of novelty will be more distinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 discloses a portion of a rifle having a telescope mounted thereon by the present invention, the angle of elevation of the bore with respect to the line of sight being indicated;

Fig. 2 is a plan View, on an enlarged scale, of the present invention with an indication or" extremes of windage adjustment;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially along line. 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing the angularities which may be assumed by the mounting rings upon various elevation adjustments and indicating the possible extremes of elevation changes;

2 Fig. 4 is a partial section taken substantially along line 4-4 of Fig. 2 on a further enlarged scale with various extremes of adjustment in both elevation and windage schematically indicated thereon; and

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken substantially along line 55 of Fig. 4 with the extremes of windage adjustment being indicated in dash lines.

Fig. 1 illustrates the receiver portion of a rifle including the usual stock to and barrel II. The barrel is associated with a receiver ring [2 and receiver bridg l3, between which is placed the usual receiver opening I4. A bolt 15 having a handle [6 and the conventional trigger i! and trigger guard l8 are illustrated. A telescope tube I9 is illustrated. It is to be appreciated that the present invention may be associated with many types of telescopes and rides other than those herein illustrated.

The present invention comprises a rigid base bar 29 adapted to be mounted above the receiver opening by passing screws into countersunk mounting openings 2 l which screws would be received in threaded openings in the receiver ring and receiver bridge to retain the base bar in fixed position on the top of the rear portion of the rifle barrel. The rear portion of the base bar is preferably provided with a depression 22 formed to match the particular receiver bridge, and the front portion thereof is provided with a depression 23 formed to match the particular receiver ring.

The intermediate portion of the base bar is provided with a recess 24 extending from the right edge to the central portion of the bar and having an undercut to permit the loading of the rifle and the ejection of empty cartridges. The shape and details of the base bar herein illustrated are exemplary. Various changes may be necessary to accommodate the invention to certain rifles, such changes, however, being of no import with respect to the invention.

The base bar is provided with a pair of vertical, threaded openings, one near each end, in each of which a large, vertical screw is mounted. The forward screw 25 is relatively short so as not to project below the surface of the depression 23 since this screw is positioned above the receiver ring. The rear screw 26 is of much longer length in order that the screw may be rotated. to raise or lower the rear end of the telescope within the limits of elevation adjustment desired. The rear portion surrounding the screw 26 may be much thicker and may have a boss projecting down wardly so as to give greater stability to the rear adjustment screw. The screw opening is accessible from beneath the base bar by screw rotating means, such as the offset tool 30 indicated in dash lines in Fig. 1, which may be inserted.

through the receiver opening to engage tool engaging means on the lower end of the screw 26. The tool engaging means may be of several types, but preferably the screw 25 comprises a coaxial bore in the lower end of which a plurality of longitudinal ribs 3| are provided, the ribs being engageable with an offset hexagonal bar. The screw 25 is preferably provided with a similar coaxial bore having internal ribs so that the head of screw 25 may be drawn tightly against the bar in order permanently to fix the elevation of the forward mounting ring prior to mounting the base bar upon the rifle. If for any reason however, it should be desired to move the screw 25 or the screw 2% from above, the mounting ring may be removed, as will presently appear, and the hexagonal bar inserted through the coaxial bore from above.

The upper surface of the base bar is provided with a large countersink 35 into which the enlarged disc head 35 of screw 26 may descend. The upper surface of the base bar is provided with a similar countersink into which the enlarged disc head of screw 25 may descend. The countersinks are of such depth with respect to the depth of the disc heads that the upper surfaces of the disc heads will lie flush with the upper surface of the bar when the screws are inserted as far as possible. The countersinks are of lesser diameter than the width of the bar and opposed vertical recesses M] are located in the side walls of the bar at each side of the bar. The countersinks are substantially tangent to the inner surfaces of the recesses 40 and a considerable portion of each side wall is removed adjacent the point of tangency so as to permit lateral access to the. screw heads when fully depressed.

The disc heads are provided with annular, peripheral grooves 4! which are preferably V-shaped in section with the walls thereof at substantially '90 degrees to each other. A snap ring 42 of substantially the same vertical thickness as the disc head 36 and having spaced apart ends and a truncated V-shaped inner wall is retained in the recess 4! with the vertical portion 43 of the inner wall being spaced outwardly from the bottom of the recess. The snap ring is provided with a central portion 44 of considerable resiliency, such as by making the ring of spring material and reducing the thickness of the central portion so that the ring may be snapped into position as seen in Fig. 5. The ring could normally tend to open slightly so as to cause the inner surfaces thereof to be spaced from the surfaces of the recessdi, however a relatively tight fit will be perfectly satisfactory. The ring is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed conical journal openings 45 on a diameter normal to the diameter including the center of the thin portion 64 and the opening in the ring so that when the ring is positioned as seen in Fig. 5 each of the openings 45 faces toward a side of the bar. The journal openings are preferably in the form of conical depressions and the inner extremities of the depressions preferably comprise small openings through the inner truncated wall 43 of the snap ring. The cone is preferably substantially a 90 degree cone and the inner opening is of such diameter that a 90 degree conical point inserted into the journal will not be able to reach the inner surfaces of the tained thereon by windage adjustment screws seated in the journal openings 45. The ring 6!] preferably has a narrow slot El therein bridged by a clamping screw 52 having its head seated in a countersink 63 extending diagonally upward at one side. The lower surface of the holder comprises a horizontal surface 64 which is retained above and spaced from the upper surface of the disc head 36. The surface 64 lies between a pair of spaced ears 65 straddling and spaced from the ring 42. The ears 65 are of lesser width than the recesses 48 so that a limited amount of rotation of the ring about the axis of the disc head may be accommodated, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 5. A windage adjustment screw 66, preferably of the socket head type, is threadedly mounted in each of the ears 65 along a line normal to the axis of rotation of the elevation adjustment screw. The screws 66 are provided with conical tips to match the conical journals t5 as seen in Fig. 4.

It is to be appreciated that in all essential details the forward ring 60 and the associated windage adjustment screws are identical so as to reduce the number of manufacturing operations. The elevation adjustment members are also substantially identical except as to length.

In Fig. 1 the telescope has been illustrated as being set for normal hunting or target elevation in which case the axis a of the telescope is inclined a slight amount with respect to a line b paralleling the axis of the rifle bore. In Fig. '3 I have indicated by the lines 0 and d the limits of angularity of the telescope to the riflle bore which may be achieved by windage adjustment of the screws 66 in the rear mounting ring. When adjusting the rear mounting ring, particularly for large windage adjustments, it is preferable to back off one of the windage adjustment screws in the forward mounting ring so that the ring 42 of the forward mount will be free to turn about the head of screw 25. When the windage adjustment screws are moved inward to their fullest extent the snap ring 42 acts as a brake shoe to prevent rotation of the disc head screw.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the limits of angularity in elevation of the telescope by the lines 6 and In both Figs. 2 and 3 it will be seen that the forward mounting ring may remain in set position while all adjustments are accomplished by moving the rear mounting ring. Both rings, however, cant to accommodate the changes in angular position of the telescope tube as the rear elevation screw 26 is raised or lowered. The

,surfaces '64 are spaced from the disc heads 36 by an amount sufiicient to permit extreme rocking of the mounting rings 60. A feature is that the mounting rings may be rotated degrees so that the clamping screw 62 may be located at the right instead of the left as illustrated without in any way affecting the operation of the device. Similarly, both of the snap rings may open toward the rear or both toward front, instead of oppositely as illustrated, without in any way affecting the device. One mounting ring could be substituted for the other, one snap ring could be substituted for the other, and one elevating screw could be substituted for the other except as to length. In otherwords, it is impossible for a novice to get parts mixed up and thus destroy the utility of the device.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated the range of possible adjustments. The point g indicates theaxis of the telescope above the rear mounting ring when the elevation and windage adjustment screws are set as illustrated in Fig. 1. By shifting the screws 65 or the screw 26 to the extent desired, the axis of the telescope at the rear mounting ring may be shifted to any point within the shaded figure it. By various dash lines the bore of the ring has been indicated at the positions assumed when the axis is shifted to the limits of figure h.

The disc heads 36 of the screws and 26 as so far described may be used without further modification and may be manufactured in quantity by the use of the same tools. However, in order to increase the utility of the invention, the disc head of the adjustable elevation screw 29 is fabricated to a further degree by the addition thereto of click means for facilitating adjustment in elevation to the desired extent, and the countersink 35 in which the particular screw disc head is located is modified for th reception of a click spring it. spring of sufficient length to extend from one side of the recess 33 to a point adjacent the centerline of the bar 29. The spring is provided with a dimple H which is of suflicient size to fit into a recess E2 in the side wall of the countersink 35. The dimple is drilled and internally threaded for reception of the end of a screw 3 which extends diagonally inwardly from the end of the receiver recess 24 in the bar 20, the head being set into a countersunk recess in the bar. The free end of the spring ll] is bent inwardly and is provided with a sharply bent end 14 forming a dog which is receivable in click notches i5 in the peripheral edges of the disc head 35 between the spaced ends of the snap ring 42 (Fig. 5). The click notches are preferably about 45 in number, each being about 8 degrees in angular width, thereby providing a large number of stops for each rotation of the screw 26 and thus providing an audible determination of the extent of adjustment of the elevation screw as well as means whereby the extent of adjustment can be determined by sensing the clicks through the adjusting tool 30. The spring H3 is preferably of substantially the same width as the depth of the countersink 35 and the click notches '55 are provided in both the upper and lower flanges of the V-shapcd groove 41. When the elevation screw is fully depressed the end of the spring engages both sets of click notches and the screw is elevated the lower set of click notches will still register with the click spring for all normally used ranges. The spring will not register with the click notches at extremely long ranges, but at such ranges fineness of adjustment is of relative unimportance. As a further aid to determining the extent of elevation adjus.-- merit the upper surface of the disc head 33 is preferably provided with a plurality of radially extending index lines 15 (Fig. 5), and one of which may be viewed with relation to some fixed marl: or portion of the bar 23 or of an ear 65, or the end M of spring 15.

The telescope mounting rings as so far described are identical in all respects and may be made with the same automatic machines. However, in order to increase the utility of the invention, the rear mounting ring is preferably provided with at least one set of marks T! (Fig. ll extending radially about the threaded opening in one ear 65, and the windage adjustment screw 68 in that ear is preferably provided with an index mark 78. It is thereby possible to observe the extent of rotation of the windage screw when making windage adjustments.

The click spring it is a leaf Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said so as to be adjustable toward and away from sai base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a resilient, split ring retained in said recess, a telescope clamp, and a pair of horizontally disposed, coaxially aligned, opposedly directed screws threadedly mounted in said telescope clamp and pivotally engaging diametrically oposed portions of said ring.

A telescope mount for a ride or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said memher having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a split ring retained in said recess and comprising a s air of diametrically opposed, laterally directed ournal openings, a telescope clamp, and a pair of horizontally disposed, coaxially aligned, opposedly directed screws threadeolly mounted in said telescope clamp and having their ends pivotally seated in said journal openings.

3. A. telescope mount for a rifle or the like,

P comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a split ring retained in said recess, said split ring having a resilient central portion permitting the ring to be snapped into said recess, a telescope clamp including spaced portions straddling said ring spaced relation thereto, a pair of horizontally disposed, coaxially aligned, inwardly directed screws each threadedly mounted in one of said portions, the inner ends of said screws and diametrically opposed side portions of said ring being complementarily shaped to provide a pivctal support for said clamp and thrust means to clamp said ring to said member.

a. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having annular V-shaped peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a split ring retained in said recess, said split ring having a generally truncated V-shaped cross section and a thin, central portion permitting the ring to be snapped into said recess, and having a pair of diametrically disposed, laterally directed conical openings therethrough, a telescope mount including a telescope engaging portion above and in spaced relation to said member and a spaced pair of side portions straddling said ring in spaced relation thereto, and pair of conically-tipped screws respectively mounted in said side portions and having their conical tips seated in said openings.

5. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a ring retained in said recess and comprising a pair of laterally directed journal openings, a telescope holder associated with said member and comprising a pair of cars straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, the tips of said screws rotatably engaging in said journal openings, and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said ring to clamp said ring in said recess and prevent rotation of said member.

6. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like,

comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a ring retained in said recess and having apair of diametrically opposed, laterally directed, conical depressions therein, a telescope. holder associated with said member and comprising a pair of ears straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, said screws having conical tips engageable in said conical depressions.

7. A telescope mount'for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a vertical screw threadedly mounted on said base and having a large, disc head positioned above said base, the head of said screw having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, rotation preventing means loosely retained in said recess and comprising a pair of laterally directed journal openings, a telescope holder associated with said vertical screw and comprising a pair of ears straddling said screw head and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed, horizontal screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, the tips of said horizontal screws rotatably engaging in said journal openings, and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said means to clamp said means in said recess and prevent rotation of said vertical screw.

8. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a vertical screw threadedly mounted on said base and having a large, disc head positioned above said base, the head of said screw having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a spring ring retained in said recess and having a pair of diametrically opposed, laterally directed, conical depressions therein, a telescope holder associated with said vertical screw and comprising a pair of ears straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed, horizontal screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, said horizontal screws having conical tips engageable in said conical depressions.

9. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a vertical screw threadedly mounted on said base and having a large hea positioned above said base, the head of said screw having an annular, peripheral, \l-shaped recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a member having a generally V-shaped cross section retained in said recess and comprising a pair of laterally directed journal openings a telescope holder associated with said vertical screw and comprising a pair of ears straddling said member and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed, horizontal screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, the tips of said horizontal screws rotatably engaging in said journal openings, and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said member to clamp saidmember in said recess and prevent rotation of said vertical screw.

0. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a split ring retained in said recess, said split ring having a thin central portion permitting the ring to be snapped into said recess and having a pair of diametrically disposed, laterally directed journal openings, a telescope holder associated with said member and comprising a base spaced from the upper surface of said member and a pair of ears straddling said ring and laterally spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, the tips of said screws rotatably engaging in said journal openings, and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said ring to clamp said ring in said recess and prevent rotation of said member.

11. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lyingin a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a resilient, snap-ring retained in said recess, said ring having a pair of diametrically disposed, laterally directed conical openings therein, a telescope holder associated with saidL member and comprising a pair of cars straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, said screws having conical tips engage-' able in said conical openings.

12. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation at its upper end, a split ring retained in said recess and comprising a pai of laterally directed journal openings, a telescope holder associated with said member and comprising a pair of cars straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis. the tips of said screws rotatably engaging in said journal openings, and said screw tips being formedto thrust against said ring to clamp said ring in said recess and prevent rotation of said member, said member having a tool engaging lower end and said base having an opening therethrough to permit engagement of a tool with said lower end.

13. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a member threadedly mounted on said base so as to be adiustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, said member having an annular, peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a split ring retain d in said recess and comprising a pair of laterally dire ted journal openings, a telescope holder associated with said member and comprising a pair of ears straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed screws threaded through said ears along a line normal to said axis, the tips of said screws rotatably engaging in said journal openings, and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said ring to clamp said ring in said recess and prevent rotation of said member, said member having a coaxial opening therethrough and longitudinal ribs in said coaxial opening.

1 A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising abase, a vertical screw threadedly mounted on said base and having a large, disc head positioned above said base, the head of said screw having an annular peripheral recess therein lying in a plane normal to its axis of rotation, a split ring retained in said recess and having a pair of diametrically opposed, laterally directed, conical openings therethrough, a telescope holder associated with said vertical screw and comprising a pair of ears straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a pair of opposed, horizontal screws threaded through said ears alonga line normal to said axis, said screws having conical tips engageable in said conical openings, said recess being V-=shaped, said ring being of truncated V-shape in cross section, and the inner diameter of said conical openings through the truncated inner wall of said ring being of such diameter that the tips of said horizontal screws cannot engage the bottom of said recess.

15. A telescope mounted for a rifle or the like, comprising a base bar adapted to bridge the receiver of a rifle, a pair of vertical screws mounted in said bar near its ends and having enlarged, disc heads, each of said heads having an annular, peripheral groove therein lying in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of said screw, a split ring retained in each of said grooves and having a pair of diametrically disposed, laterally directed journal openings therein, a telescope holder associated with each of said screws and comprising a horizontal, lower surface spaced above said head and a pair of ears straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a screw member threaded into eachof said ears along a line normal to the bore of said telescope holder, the tips of said screw members rotatably engaging said journal openings and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said rings to clamp said rings in said grooves and prevent rotation of said vertical screws.

16. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base bar adapted to bridge the receiver of a rifle, a pair of vertical screws mounted in said bar near its ends and having enlarged,

ill

disc heads, each of said heads having an annular, peripheral groove therein lying in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of said member, a split ring retained in each of said grooves and having a pair of diametrically disposed, laterally directed journal openings therein, a telescope holder associated with each of said screws and comprising a pair of ears straddling said ring and spaced therefrom, and a screw member threaded into each of said ears along a line normal to the bore of said telescope holder, the tips of said screw members rotatably engaging said journal openings and said screw tips being formed to thrust against said rings to clamp said rings in said grooves and prevent rotation of said vertical screws, said vertical screws and associated telescope holders being substantially identioal.

17. A telescope mount for a rifle or the like, comprising a base, a vertical screw threaded into said base and having an enlarged disc head adjustable toward and away from said base upon rotation, a plurality of click notches in the periphery of said disc head, a click spring mounted on said base and having its free end engageable in said click notches, and a telescope clamping ring pivotally and rotatably mounted on said disc head.

MARCUS LEUPOLD.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

